Blog Archives

Theatre Review: A TASTE OF HONEY – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

The cast of A TASTE OF HONEY. Photo Credit: Johan Persson

Driven by its sublime staging and exceptional cast performance, A TASTE OF HONEY is a must-see.

5 out of 5 stars

When 19-year-old Shelagh Delaney wrote A TASTE OF HONEY in 1958, it sent shock waves through the world of theatre. It was a stinging dose of what would become known as “kitchen sink realism” and depicted a world many had not seen.

The Royal Exchange’s current production has lost none of that impact, and although the play is 66 years old, i...

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Theatre Review: BERT’S HOUSE – Salford Arts Theatre, Salford

Scott Bradley and Gemma Boaden in BERT’S HOUSE. Photo Credit: Rebecca Cockcroft

Funny, witty and guaranteed to give you a laugh, BERT’S HOUSE is a masterclass of crossed wires and comedy gold.

5 out of 5 stars

Life is not going well for Bert. He’s a run-down bed and breakfast owner of a run-down guest house in a run-down seaside town. The estate agents are circling and things could not get much worse...

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Theatre Review: DROP THE DEAD DONKEY: THE REAWAKENING! – The Lowry, Salford

Despite the odd rhythmic dip, DROP THE DEAD DONKEY: THE REAWAKENING! has lost none of its acerbic wit.

3.5 out of 5 stars

In the 1990s the internet was still a different place. News media, although adopting the 24-hour format, was still regarded as more or less reliable. Or was it?

DROP THE DEAD DONKEY, which ran from 1990 to 1998, provided a satirical take on the world of news and, more specifically, GlobeLink News, the shambolic and angst-ridden comic creation of Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin...

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Theatre Review: PRISM – Waterside Arts, Sale

PRISM mixes music, lights and thematic projections to deliver not just a performance, but an experience.

4 out of 5 stars

This year, Sale Waterside Arts is offering a family-friendly winter festival to kick off its festive period. PRISM is a community-led three-day event comprising a light projection trail complimented by Sentinel – a work conceived and performed by Richard Evans.

The light trail itself consists of ever-changing coloured bauble projections, which have all been created from ideas submitted by t...

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Theatre Review: TO WONG FOO THE MUSICAL – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Pablo Gomez Jones, Gregory Haney and Peter Caulfield in TO WONG FOO THE MUSICAL. Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

Fast-paced, full of energy and a whole lot of attitude, TO WONG FOO THE MUSICAL is feel-good theatre at its best.

5 out of 5 stars

Last year saw Hope Mill Theatre staged the European premiere of the musical adaptation of CINDERELLA. This year, they have secured the world premiere of TO WONG FOO THE MUSICAL – and what an utter sumptuous joy it is.

Based on the iconic 1995 film, which tells the story of thr...

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Theatre Review: SHYLOCK – Waterside Arts, Sale

Part history lecture and part dramatic performance, Gareth Armstrong’s one-man’s performance of SHYLOCK is powerful and mesmerising.

5 out of 5 stars

Who is Shylock? A caricature? A grotesque? A construction of two thousand years of persecution? All these questions are posed and answered in Gareth Armstrong’s one man tour de force, Shylock, where using the device of Tubal, an eight line and one scene associate of Shylock, he takes us on a tour of not only the play but the systematic antisemitism that informe...

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Theatre Review: CASTING THE RUNES – Waterside Arts, Sale

Designed to frighten and delight in equal measure, CASTING THE RUNES is an excellent retelling of the M.R. James’ supernatural thriller.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Adapting a classic story is always a tightrope; adhere too closely, and the play runs the risk of being slow-paced; adapt too much, and you lose the essence. Pleasingly, Box Tale Soup’s retelling of the classic M.R. James’ story CASTING THE RUNES hits the audience note perfect.

The supernatural tale concerns Professor Duning (Noel Byrne) and Harrington (Ant...

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Theatre Review: BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL – Waterside Arts, Sale

The cast of BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL 2020 Tour. Photo: Ant Robling

Blending comedy and pathos in equal measure, BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL brings Helen Forrester’s autobiographical tale to life on stage.

4 out of 5 stars

Adapting a much-loved book, or series of books, is always a difficult proposition, but in BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL, Rob Fennah has pulled off an excellent job of taking Helen Forrester’s autobiographical tale of life in Liverpool on the eve of the second world war from page to stage.

T...

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Theatre Review: THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY – Waterside Arts, Sale

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY is not a tribute or a pastiche, but a loving homage to the music we all know and love.

5 out of 5 stars

Say the names Simon and Garfunkel to anyone and they will instantly have a place, a time and at least half a dozen song titles immediately in their head. Along with Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel held up a mirror to the immense changes in culture and society happening in the world in the late 1960s. They were simply a soundtrack to a disaffected generation.

Fast forward ...

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INTERVIEW: Sam Dickinson Talks About His New Track, Falling

Sam Dickinson talks about his new track, FALLING and his signing with global AEC Music

Sam Dickinson is back. The north-east singer has finally unveiled his new track, FALLING, his first since signing with global record label AEC music, and it is an absolute banger.

Reviews are already hailing FALLING as magnificent and Studio 54-inspired, and for dance tracks, the praise does not come much higher. FALLING is the first release since his lockdown album OFF SCRIPT and is worth the wait...

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